Pekin Limping and Squealing

I have a pekin duckling a little over a week old. He just started experiencing a leg issue. His left leg is bothering him because he rarely uses it now and hops on the other leg. He may use it if he gets hungry and/or thirsty enough to get to the food and water. I tried placing him in a lukewarm bath to relax his muscles and I've just bought some vitamins so that he can get the niacin he needs. Just this morning he started squealing and was stationary as though he didn't recognize his surroundings. He hasn't drank or ate in the past few hours. What should I do? This is my first time owning a duck and he is the sweetest thing. I couldn't see myself without him.

There are two other ducklings - Mallard.
I feed them Organic Non GMO/ Non -Medicated Chick Starter Crumbles
Food and Water is always available 24/7
They are in a very large plastic tote, lined with pine chips and paper towel
Temperature is between 85-90 degrees now
No treats as of yet
And yes chick grit still added to their meals

The not eating or drinking thing worries me...and tubing a little one would need some very good information so you don't harm the baby . . . casportpony has experience with tube feeding.

Do you have a scale that would enable you to get a good weight reading? Tracking weight may really matter.

What kind of vitamins? Sounds like this could be B vitamin deficiency-related, but there are other things that can happen. I would start B vitamin supplements right away. Down below I'll copy something I wrote up about B vitamin supplements.

If you can get the little one to a vet a.s.a.p., I would do that. It could be an infection, a congenital health issue, conceivably the little may have eaten something that got stuck in the digestive tract . . . . are there any odd bumps? how does the vent look?

Supplement writeup

Ducklings need about three times the niacin chicks do. And some ducklings get leg problems or seizures if they don't have enough niacin.

You can use brewer's yeast. Forgive me for using capital letters, but for anyone else who may casually look over this thread, NOT baking yeast, NOT winemaking yeast. Brewer's yeast is a nutritional supplement and it provides niacin and a few other vitamins.

Generally, folks who supplement with brewer’s yeast use a tablespoon per cup of food.

If you cannot find the brewer's yeast, or if you happen to have (here come the capital letters again, please forgive me) PLAIN niacin - NOT no-flush, NOT timed release, then dissolve 150 mg niacin per gallon of water for the duckling’s drinking water.

Another approach is to use B Complex capsules, and use the B3 - niacin - levels as a guide. Again, 150 mg B3 per gallon of drinking water.

Keep the little one on the supplements for about 8 weeks.

Sometimes it only takes a few days to see improvement.

You can also see how it went for Qwackers and Bentley from these threads.

My duck is doing better. I had to hand feed him and assist him with drinking the vitamin water using a medicine tsp cup. He's eating a lot more and drinking a lot more. He's pooping little tiny logs so I'm guessing the food is digesting well. He's also trying to use that left leg more. I did separate him from the others for the night so that he can have ample time to get to his food and water without the other two drinking it. So he has his own and they have their own. All of this is temporary until he can get back into the routine. He's still sleeping but I'm less worried about him eating and drinking now.

Thank you all for your support! It has been truly appreciated. I was crying over him because I didn't know how he would respond after my many attempts to get him well but it looks like he's trying to turn around. I'll have a photo soon! He's such a great guy.

My duck is doing better. I had to hand feed him and assist him with drinking the vitamin water using a medicine tsp cup. He's eating a lot more and drinking a lot more. He's pooping little tiny logs so I'm guessing the food is digesting well. He's also trying to use that left leg more. I did separate him from the others for the night so that he can have ample time to get to his food and water without the other two drinking it. So he has his own and they have their own. All of this is temporary until he can get back into the routine. He's still sleeping but I'm less worried about him eating and drinking now.

Thank you all for your support! It has been truly appreciated. I was crying over him because I didn't know how he would respond after my many attempts to get him well but it looks like he's trying to turn around. I'll have a photo soon! He's such a great guy.

Click to expand...

Fantastic news....I was almost going to suggest with the baby, to quack softly to it and use your fingers to encourage him to eat and drink....I do that with all my little Ducklings....They all wake up and cry for me to come and quack and put my fingers in the bowl just like a mother Duck does....Silly little puppies.....